By ahajnal
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He should have had seen it coming miles away...
And he had. He had seen it, the way the new guy had looked at her way, the way their eyes had met and how she had sat there still, just looking at him, the way he had held her hand in attempted to pull her up from the ground...
But he had intervened, yes, he had. He had pushed the new guy away, had hovered over her himself and had pulled her up, had asked her if she had hurt herself by falling, fusing over her yet he had noticed how her gaze had lingered on the new guy, but he had paid it no mind. After all, even if they hadn't confessed, even if they hadn't said it out loud, they had known how they felt for each other, they had always known...
Everyone around them had suspected that he, Shravan Malhotra and her, Suman Tiwari had been precious to each other since forever. And they had been, so precious...
Born on the same day - neighbors before even that - they had celebrated their birthdays together since forever, had said their first words together and to each other. They had taken their first step together and towards each other. They had started preschool together, had fought their first bully together, had made the walkie talkie from paper glass together and then they had hanged it in between their windows which faced each other. They had exchanged their play toys and innocent curiosities with each other. They had been attached to the hip and never had stayed away from each other even during the summer holidays...
So, what and who could have separated them?
Apparently, puberty could have and it had...
They had started middle school together. And in between somewhere, the puberty had hit them, changing their bodies and making them extra conscious, and suddenly they had been insecure and shy around each other yet together no matter what. And that's when it had happened; he had forgotten to block the view of his room with the curtains and she had seen his lanky body when he had just stepped out of the bathroom covered only in a towel. She had screamed in horror as if she had seen a monster and had run away while throwing something at him. She had closed her side of the window and had pulled together the curtains - something that they had never done before. That one act of hers had destroyed his fragile confidence and ego, had made him feel humiliated, and whatnot...
And his immature fourteen years old self had not cared when the very next day she had attempted to talk to him, had tried to apologize. Even if she had waited by her side of the window for days, weeks even. He hadn't been ready to face her, to talk to her, to tell her that it was okay, that he had been embarrassed and ashamed, had felt humiliation. And when he had gathered the courage, she had been too angry at him to even look at his way. And that's how years had passed by, and even though the curtains of their side of windows had kept them hidden from each other's eyesight, they still had kept tabs on each other. She had known he had made it into middle school's football team and he had known that she had joined the book club and then he had matched his schedule with hers so she wouldn't have to walk home alone, not that she had ever found out, not that he had ever let her know that he had been walking behind her for years to make sure she reached home safe.
And then came high school, a new start and a new chapter of their life. And the season of Spring had been right, just right for their reunion...
On the very first day of High school, with the spring in full bloom and with the streets covered in white and pink cherry flowers, she had come back in his life screaming her lungs out as she descended rapidly from the hill on her bicycle thanks to break's failure. He hadn't thought twice before jumping in between to break her fall and had wrapped his arms around her before she could have hurt herself even though that move of his had resulted in him having a bandage on his own hand...
